Fan attachment for rocking-chairs



Patented Mar. 28, I899.

J. T. COWAN.

FAN ATTACHMENT FUR ROCKING CHAIRS.

(Application filed Dec. 14, 1896.)

(No Model.)

IJVV'EJV'TOR Jawzgs 17 Comm,

WITNESSES fan attachments.

TATES PATENT Prion,

JAMES T. OOWA N, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

F AN ATTACHMENT FOR ROCKING-CHAIRS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 622,123, dated March 28, 1899. Application filed December 14,1896. Serial No. 615,619. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES T. COWAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of: Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fan Attachments; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in The object of the invention is to provide an attachment of the class mentioned which is adapted for use on rocking-chairs, whereby the occupants thereof maybe fanned without exerting themselves beyond operating the chair and, further, the invention aims to provide a fan attachment which is adjustable throughout the various parts constituting the same.

With these objects in view the invention consists, substantially, in the construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, as will hereinafter be illustrated, described, and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a perspective view of a fan attachment constructed in accordance with the present invention and illustrated as'applied to an ordinary rocking-chair. Fig. 2 is an enlarged'sectional view taken longitudinally through the rotatable sleeve in which the fan-shaft isv secured. Fig. 3 is 'a perspective View illustrating the attachment as applied to a platform-rocker, and Fig. 4 is a detail View illustrating the clutch connection between the frame and the contractile spring.

Similar numerals-of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the frame of the attachment, whichis formed of a single strip of metal, preferably iron, and said strip is bent at a point approximately midway its ends, and the sides of the frame formed by so bending the strip lie substantially parallel, but slightly spaced from each other to provide a slot in which thumb-screws 2 or their equivalent may be passed, so as to secure the attachment to the back of a rocker.

After the strip constitutin the frame has been bent in the manner described one side thereof is provided with an offset 3, by which the sides, above the parallel portions thereof, are spaced a greater distance, so that a rotatable pulley-sleeve 4 may be arranged therebe tween, and the upper ends of the sides of the frame 1 are bifurcated to form U shaped bearings 5.

The pulley-sleeve4 has adjacent to its ends annular grooves or recesses 6, which are adapted to receive the bifurcated ends of the frame 1, so that the portion of the sleeve 4 at which the grooves 6 are formed may enter and be retained in the bearings 5, the latter enabling said pulley-sleeve .to easily rotate therein.

Passing longitudinally through the sleeve 4 is a fan-shaft 7, the latter being adjustable in said sleeve, so as to regulate the positions of the fans over the occupant of the chair, and for securing the fan-shaft within the sleeve 4, to"prevent the longitudinal movement of said shaft, binding-screws 8 are mounted in the sleeve 4 and are adapted to have their inner ends impinge against the fan-shaft 7, the heads of said screws projecting a sufficient distance from the surface of the sleeve 4 for a purpose to be presently stated.

Arranged at the end of the fan-shaft 7 which is above the occupant of the chair is a plurality of fans 9, which fans may be of any approved construction, and in order that the same may be securely fastened to the shaft 7, so that they will operate therewith, the said end of the fan-shaft 7 is flattened and bent back, so as to form an eye 10, in which the stems of the fans may be passed, and in order that said stems may be retained in the eye 10 a ring 11 is slidably mounted upon the fan-shaft 7 and is adapted to be slid over the turned-back end, thereby binding the same and holding the stems of the fans in the eye 10.

12 indicates a plurality of operating-strings, the upper ends of which are coiled aroundthe pulley-sleeve 4 and secured thereto by means of the projecting ends of the bindingscrews 8, and the lower end of one of said strings is connected to a coiled spring 13 or its equivalent, the lower end of said spring being connectedto a clutch 14-, the latter being provided with an opening designed to receive one side of the frame 1, so that said clutch may be slid along said side, and it will be noted that by reason of the tension of the coiled spring 13 said clutch may be caused to bind against the side of the frame upon which it is mounted and be secured thereon, thus providing for the regulation of the tension of said spring.

The lower end of the other operating-string 2 is fastened to a screw-eye15 or its equivalent, which is secured in one end of an operatnig-lever16,and formed in the operating-lever 16, substantially midway its ends, is a transverse groove 17 The latter is designed to receive a transverse bearing-rod 18,which rod extends over the tips of the rockers of the chair and is secured thereto by means of fasteningbrackets 19, the latter being formed, preferably, of sheet metal bent into an approximately U shape, so as to provide eyes 20, in which the ends of the transverse bearing-rod 18 are disposed, setscrews 21 being provided in said eyes 20 to bind therein the operatingrod, and for the purpose of securing the fastening-brackets to the rocker-tips any suitable means may be employed-much, for instance, as ordinary screws. The end of the operatinglever 1G opposite to the screw-eye 15 has a friction-roller 22 journaled therein, said roller being adapted to contact with and move along the surface upon which the rocker is located and reduce the friction therewith incident to the operating of the lever 16 for revolving the fans 9.

In Fig. 4 I have illustrated a slightly-different form of the invention, and in this construction it will be noted that the operatinglever 16, together with its fasteners, is dispensed with, the lower end of one of the operating-strings 12 being secured to a screweye 23, secured in the platform of this class of rockers. Otherwise the mechanism for this construction of rocker is the same as is illustrated in Fig. 1.

In operation when the occupant of the rocker moves forward, so as to carry the chair in such direction, the string which is conneeted to the operating-lever 10 will revolve the fans in one direction, and when the limit of the forward movement of the chair has been reached and the movement reversed the tension of the coiled spring 13 will also reverse the movement of the fans 9, this, as is clearly obvious, being accomplished by the string 12, which is connected to said spring and also coiled on the pulley-sleeve at, each one of the strings 12 being coiled in opposite directions on said sleeve, so as to effect the rotation and the reverse movement of said sleeve. The f riction-roller 22 will easily pass over the surface on which the rocker is placed, and the string connected to said operatinglever 16 will hold the same against the operating-rod 18, so that the latter will also be seated in the transverse groove 17. The device herein described is adjustable in all its immediate vicinity thereof.

working parts, and it will be seen that by means of the thumb-screws 2 the distance of the fans 9 above the occupant of the chair may be regulated and also that the binding screws 8 in the pulley-sleeve 4 maybe so adjusted as to allow of the fan-shaft 7 sliding through said sleeve,thus placing fans 9 at any desired distance in front of the back of the rocking-chair. The coiled spring 13 is also adjustable upon the side of the frame to which it is secured, so that the tension thereof may be easily regulated, which may be ac complished by sliding the hook 1& on the side of the frame upon which it is mounted, and said hook is adapted to bind on said side at any point.

From the foregoing description it will be noted that I have provided a fan attachment which may be used upon rocking-chairs of different descriptions, so that the occupants thereof may be fanned without exerting themselves beyond that necessary for the operation of the chair, and the attachment may be manufactured at a very small figure with lit tle difficulty, and the benefit of the same when in operation is not only imparted to the occupant of the chair, but also to those in the While I have illustrated and described the means for operating the pulley sleeve 4 as strings, it will of course be obvious that equivalent means maybe substituted therefor, and, further, it is apparent that the invention is susceptible of changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of construction,- which may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or scope thereof.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination with a rocking-chair, of a fan attachment therefor comprising a frame, a bearingsleeve mounted in said frame, a fan-shaft secured to said sleeve, an operating-lever fu'lcrumed to the rockersof the chair and having one end adapted to bear against the floor, a cord attached to the other end of said lever and to said bearing-sleeve for rotating said sleeve in one direction, a contractile spring having a clutch upon one end thereof provided with an opening through which a portion of said frame extends for accomplishing the adjustment of said spring, and connections between the opposite end of said spring and said bearing-sleeve for rotating said sleeve in a reverse direction.

2. The combination 'with a rocking-chair, of a fan attachment therefor, comprising a wire frame having two substantially parallel portions bent at their upperends to form U- shaped bearings, a bearing-sleeve having annular grooves in its outer surface for receiving said U-shaped bearings, a fan-shaft secured in said sleeve, an operating-lever fulerumed to the rockers of the chair, a roller on the free end of said lever adapted to ride upon the surface of the floor, a cord attached to the other end of said lever and to said bearing-sleeve for rotating said sleeve in one direction, a contractile spring having a clutch upon one end thereof provided with an opening through Which extends one of the parallel portions of said frame for' accomplishing the adjustment of said spring, and a cord connected tothe opposite end of said spring and to said bearing-sleeve for rotating the said sleeve in a reverse direction.

3. A fan attachment adapted for use with rocking-chairs, comprising a frame adapted to be secured thereto, a fan-shaft mounted in said frame and adapted to rotate therein, one

specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. I

, 1 JAMES T. COVVA'N; Witnesses:

F. W. WASSON, CHAS. CLARE. 

